All went well putting it on the water at Bidford on Saturday and I had a potter around the river there on Sunday afternoon and moored at the Frog pub overnight then had a very pleasant trip down to Evesham today with lots of help and useful advice from Nick, very much appreciated.
Regarding flood alerts I'm signed up to everything now including the Farson camera at the lock, I've found the premium subscription just removes the ads and allows you to look back and see what's happened in time lapse mode.
I have a caravan on the river front at Weir Meadow just above the lock with a live camera I can also remotely tap in to.
Thanks again for all the advice, I'm sure I'll be back for more!